


On This Day

by missshirley



Category: Adventures in Odyssey
Genre: Armitage Shanks, Gen, Jenny Whittaker, Katrina & Jason Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27624221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missshirley/pseuds/missshirley
Summary: Katrina goes into Triple J's Antiques to get a gift for Eugene, but memories of her father's death overtake her.
Relationships: Katrina Meltsner & Jason Whittaker, Katrina Meltsner/Eugene Melsner
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	On This Day

Katrina hesitated outside Triple J’s Antiques. She needed to go in, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for- 

She jumped as Jason pushed the door open with his back. He tripped, but quickly regained his balance. 

“Jason! Do you need any help?” Katrina eyed the boxes he had stacked in his arms. 

“What? Oh! Katrina, sorry. I didn’t see you there!” 

“It’s fine, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been standing in front of the door.” 

Jason chuckled and cocked his head as he set the boxes in the bed of his truck, “Well, maybe.” 

Katrina lightly shoved his shoulder. “You are horrible.” 

Jason shrugged, “Maybe.” He opened the door, “You coming in?” 

“I- um, sure.” Katrina stepped inside the antique store and was instantly greeted by the cozy smell of old books, leather, coffee, and cinnamon. Memories flooded back. This store would always remind her of her father, and while it was one place she felt indescribably safe, today the memories were too painful and tears pricked her eyes. 

“Katrina? Are you okay?” Jason rested his broad hand on her tiny, tense shoulder. 

“Yeah, it’s just...there are so many memories in this place. I don’t think I can handle them all today.” She swallowed against the rising, painful lump in her throat. 

“Did you come in for anything specific?” 

“I need to get a watch chain for Eugene’s pocket watch. I decided it would be a good anniversary gift.” 

“Okay, well I have some over there in the jewelry display, next to the rings.” He walked over to the counter and began filling out paperwork. 

Katrina nodded and walked over to the display case, passing several refurbished rocking chairs on the way. She stopped in front of the large glass case and surveyed the rings and chains therein. She tried not to look at the rings, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her do a double take. She moved in front of an elaborate ring. “Jason?” She called. 

“Yeah? What is it?” He stepped out from behind the counter. 

“This ring,” she pointed at the one on the third shelf, “Where did you get it?” 

Jason unlocked the case, “That is a very good question. I found it a couple of weeks ago in the back room. I’m not sure where it came from.” He picked up the ring and eyed the tag. “I really don’t know.” 

“May I?” Katrina held out her hand. 

“Of course.” Jason plopped the ring into her outstretched hand. 

“It’s costume jewelry, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, I believe so. You know, it was kind of funny. I found a ring just like it in the system from years and years ago, but it only had an appraisal.” 

“One hundred dollars?” 

“Yes, how did you know? I priced it at seventy-five so it would sell faster.” 

“This ring was my great-great grandmother’s engagement ring.” 

“You mean she had one like it?” 

“No, I mean this was her engagement ring. Look, it’s engraved.” She showed Jason the inscription on the inside of the faux golden band. 

“‘To P.S. from S.S.’ Okay?” 

“P.S. is Porcelain Shanks. S.S. is Simon Shanks.” 

“But how did it get here?” 

“I don’t know. Unless Daddy left it with Mr. And Mrs. Allen after the engagement party. But for them to have kept it all these years...” her voice trailed off. 

“Well, why don’t you give your mom a call?” 

Katrina shook her head. “No, that’s a Pandora’s Box I don’t want to open.” she sighed heavily, “It figures this would happen today.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Today is not only my wedding anniversary, but also the anniversary of my father’s death. It’s hard not be a little miserable today.” 

“Oh, Katrina, I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s not common knowledge.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“About what? The fact that I got married in a hospital just minutes before my father died in front of me? Not really.” 

“Okay.” 

Katrina sighed again, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.” 

“It’s okay. I understand. Really.” 

“Forgive the sarcastic implications, but how could you possibly understand?” 

“My mom’s death wasn’t as dramatic as your father’s, but I had to watch her die in front of me too, on what should have been a milestone in my life.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I was going to propose to my girlfriend, Gloria, when I got a phone call from my dad saying that mom was in the hospital and I needed to come to Odyssey as quickly as possible. My girlfriend broke up with me for coming.” 

“That’s terrible!” 

“It was worse coming home and seeing everything in such a disarray. Things were very different here back then.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Haven’t you heard the story of how WhitsEnd became WhitsEnd?” 

Katrina shook her blonde head. 

“Well, you know before it was the Filmore Recreation Center, right?” 

This time, Katrina nodded. 

“Philip Glossman wanted to tear it down and put in a mini mall. Mom fought against it tooth and nail. She poured so much of herself into this community, never once caring for herself.” Jason stopped and stared off into space. After a minute, he blinked out of his reverie. “She got strep throat, which would have been fine, but she didn’t allow herself time to recover and it settled in her kidneys. She collapsed at a town council meeting and died shortly after my sister and I got into town.” 

“Oh Jason, I’m so sorry.” 

Jason shrugged. “It was a while ago.” 

They stood together in silence for a few minutes more. Finally, Katrina spoke, her voice choked with tears, “He was murdered, Jason. I think about it more often than I should. What they must have done to him to implant that – to force a tumor into him.” 

“Oh, Katrina.” Jason wrapped his arms around his friend, unsure of how to comfort her. 

She sniffled into his flannel shirt. “You hug like Daddy.” 

“Oh thanks, just what every bachelor wants to hear. ‘You hug like my dad’.” 

Katrina laughed, blowing snot onto Jason’s shirt. “Oh no! I’m so sorry!” 

“Now, that’s just gross.” 

“I’m sorry.” Katrina began chuckling sheepishly. “It is kind of funny though.” 

Jason laughed, shaking his head, “Yeah, a little. Listen, do you want to take the ring with you?” 

“Can I?” 

“Of course. It belongs to your family.” 

“Are you sure there was nothing else with it?” 

“Nope. It was in a shoebox in the back. I can get it for you if you’d like.” 

“Um,” she hesitated, “Yes. I would like to take a look.” 

“Okay.” 

Jason disappeared into the back room and reappeared quickly with a cream-colored shoe box in his hands. “Here.” He handed it to Katrina who took the top off and looked inside. She ran her fingers along the sides. 

“Wait, there’s an envelope here.” 

“Really?” 

Katrina nodded and began to read the letter, “Dear Mr. Allen, I know I was not particularly cordial to you at our last meeting, but you seemed to be a good and honest man which is why I have decided to send you the family ring. My wife wants nothing more to do with it now that she knows it is only costume jewelry; and I don’t want to trouble Katrina with it any more. If you could keep it safely for me for the time being, just so it isn’t around to cause any problems, I will be very grateful. Sincerely, Armitage Shanks.” 

“Is that it? That doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Not much of how Daddy conducted himself made sense, but this was certainly the type of thing he would do. Besides, look at the date. It’s two months before he died, just when Andromeda began their experiments and when he got Eugene the job at the college.” 

“Hmm, do you think he knew then?” 

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.” She stood thinking. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I still need to get a chain for Eugene.” She rushed back to the display and quickly glanced over them. “That one.” she pointed at a simple, yet elegant chain. 

“Are you sure?” Jason asked, puzzled that she had rushed her decision. 

“Yes, he was looking online and chose one very much like this one.” 

“Okay.” Jason brought the gold chain over to the counter and rung it up quickly. He placed it in a box and swiftly tied a ribbon around it. “Here you go.” He handed it to Katrina and the box seemed to grow upon leaving his large hands and reaching her tiny, feminine ones. 

“Thank you.” Katrina turned to leave. 

“No problem. And Katrina?” 

“Yes?” 

“It will always be hard, but I promise you, it will get better.” 

“Thank you, Jason.” 

“Anytime Katrina. Anytime.” 

Katrina nodded, unused to being able to share her grief with anyone other than Eugene and more recently, Connie. She left the antique store feeling as though a weight had been partially lifted from her shoulders. Suddenly, a horn honked behind her and she turned to see Eugene drive up beside the sidewalk. 

“Would you like a ride home?” Her husband asked. 

“Yes, yes I would.” She slid the box into her deep purse and got into the passenger’s seat. 

“Where did you go?” Eugene asked as he shifted the car into drive. 

“I was speaking with a friend.” 

“Did you have a satisfactory conversation?” 

“Yes, yes we did. It was a good and much needed conversation. But let’s go home now Eugene. Let’s just go home.”


End file.
